A day at the zoo

Now that the wedding is over we have continued to have great times in and around Jakarta with Nana's family. Her parents needed to get back home to Yogjakarta and have invited us to come and visit before we head home. We intend to take them up on that offer. Everyone stayed over at Kiki's fancy new home after our big day in Bogor. We got Kiki's room (the generous hospitality makes us uncomfortable but we are accepting it gratefully).

The next morning we were dropped off at the zoo so that we wouldn't be caught up in all the hustle to get parents to the airport for their short flight home. This was yet another example of our hosts looking out for our interests and working hard to show us the best time possible. We would have been fine with participating in all the packing and preparation but jumped at the chance to see the large zoo which is well known.

We were dropped off at the gate complete with our big safari hats and backpacks and some concern by Nana as to how we would do on our own and with a long day ahead. The zoo is large and sprawling. The attendance was very light during our visit in the middle of the week with mostly small families and students, including some romantic couples. We certainly stood out, but only drew a few glances and smiles.

The map provided gives approximate and generally accurate information as we found in our wandering adventures to locate various wildlife exhibits. We started the day there with a little rain but generally had a very warm and dry but humid experience. We saw many animals as we had hoped and I was glad to catch Nana before they left to retrieve my binoculars for closer viewing. We were lost on the grounds many times but always able to relocate ourselves and our quest. We really wanted to see the komodo dragons and after three tries or so managed to do so. At one point a vender offered Laurie a chance to have a photo taken with a very large boa that was not part of the caged exhibition. We turned down that unusual opportunity.

We had a late lunch of nasi goring and mie goring and lots of air botol (water) at a zoo canteen and continued our exploration. Being out under the cloudy skies gave us a better sense of the climate and how to adapt as we drank more water and moved slowly with frequent stops. Laurie had more energy and searched for the perfect butterfly photo often while I rested. Many of the animal exhibits seemed small but there were also larger areas for animal movement. Much of the maintenance seemed to be done manually. There were many highlights but one for sure was a reptile exhibit with dozens of snakes in a pit with trees, water and bare ground. They looked like brown tree snakes and many of them rested in bunches in the trees just out of reach. There were also large iguanas and a few small rabbits and rodents. The information provided with the animal exhibits was in Indonesian and seemed to be limited to a few basics about size and length of time for young to be born. I was hoping for more information on conservation needs and habit loss but didn't detect much. This would be a great opportunity to help indonesians understand the fragile but rich biological diversity their country supports.

We covered much of the zoo with a circling method to find things and estimate we traveled at least three miles and did not come close to seeing everything. This was a reconnaissance visit and we will enjoy more next time! After a very full day we heard from Nana that they would arrive soon after getting through another Jakarta traffic jam (surprise!). It was funny to hear that her parents had been dropped off at the airport and already arrived home before Nana and Eko could get across town to pick us up.

We were next off to Reza's to pack for a big solo train journey. We enjoyed some late take out that included Laurie and Nana going out at night for food and Laurie has now crossed a street in Jakarta and lived to tell about it. Impressive.

The evening was fun and included me learning how to wear a sarong which I am now traveling with. It was a little melancholy knowing we would soon be leaving our new family and friends behind but we were ready to move on for new adventures. Our zoo experience was another great day with only a mild mishap in the "loss" of my well traveled safari hat. More on that later.

Bali Starling

Toad Grotto

Dua Caiman

Cassowary Sitting

Zoo Safari

Small Hippo Sighting

Peacock Show

Binturong Resting

Komodos!

Java Deer